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Holy Cross protests 3 Arima transfers

Arima North Secondary's use of striker Josiah Joseph, Leandro Da Costa and Leonardo Da Costa who were all transferred from Success Laventille and Arima Central Secondary respectively, has been gaining the attention of Credentials Committee of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) as illegal.

Last week Holy Cross College lodged the League's first appeal, believing 'The Dial Dynamos' illegally took the trio into form four on a repeat transfer with just one pass when the SSFL's rules state clearly that students entering school on a form five repeat, must have a minimum of two subjects.

The schools are competing in the Championship Division of the SSFL, and yesterday Holy Cross manager Nigel Francois, said that during his school's investigation, it found that something was questionable with the use of Joseph (Success Laventille) and the Da Costa siblings from (Arima Central Secondary) which required an investigation.

"We found that the documents of these students needed investigation, so we asked the credentials committee to do so. After all, it is not only about football, but also about students' academics, "Francois told Guardian Media Sports.

Arima principal Vishnu Debe could not be reached yesterday, but an official from the school who spoke on condition of anonymity said, the school took a position to assist the students by placing them into the fourth Form where they will have more time to dedicate to school. He pointed to the SSFL rules which allow for students on a transfer repeat to Form five, to have a minimum of two passes to be legible to play football for the school.

"The rules never spoke of transfer repeat students entering form four, which is what we did, and therefore we did not break any law. I am willing to challenge this to the very end," the official said.

Gerald Elliot, a member of the Credentials Committee, which also includes Azaard Khan, the League's General Secretary, said the matter was brought before them and they are conducting an in-depth investigation into it.

Elliot told Guardian Media the rules are very clear with respect to transfer repeat of students into form five. He dismissed claims the law was not broken as the students were placed into form four, describing it as illegal, as the SSFL rules are clear for students on a transfer repeat.

The committee is expected to call in officials of Arima North to answer the charges sometime this week.

If the Arima boys are found guilty the school will face the possibility of having all its points deducted, Elliot explained. "That is a possibility but the committee will have to decide on how it will treat with this," Elliot noted.

Arima North leads the standings with 16 points from five wins and a tie 3-3 against Holy Cross September 18.